The Intraday Pattern of Information Asymmetry,Spread, and Depth: Evidence from the NYSE

Studies suggest that investment flows, liquidity imbalances, and institutional trading may create intraday trading patterns and opportunities for investors to time their trades to reduce transaction costs. Motivated by these studies, we divide each trading day into 13 half‐hour trading intervals and measure information asymmetry from price changes, trade sizes, and trade directions. We find that information asymmetry starts high in the morning, drops continuously until it reaches a midday low during Interval 7, rises to a midday high during Interval 10, and drops continuously after. In contrast, neither the spread nor the depth exhibit similar midday extreme values. Essentially, we identify a 90‐min window in the afternoon when net valuable information arrives to the market in high frequency while liquidity is stable, and that may be an opportunity for some investors to time their trades. In addition, we show that market makers employ dynamic strategies that change the spread, the depth, or both to manage information asymmetry. This is particularly evident during the last three trading intervals, where the significant drop in information asymmetry is countered primarily by a significant increase in the depth while the spread is almost constant.     

Intraday price formation and bid–ask spread components: A new approach using a cross‐market model

This study examines the intraday formation process of transaction prices and bid–ask spreads in the KOSPI 200 futures market. By extending the structural model of Madhavan, A., Richardson, M., and Roomans, M. ( 1997 ), we develop a unique cross‐market model that can decompose spread components and explain intraday price formation for the futures market by using the order flow information from the KOSPI 200 options market, which is a market that is closely related to the futures market as well as considered to be one of the most remarkable options markets in the world. The empirical results indicate that the model‐implied spread and the permanent component of the spread that results from informed trading tend to be underestimated without the inclusion of options market information. Further, the results imply that trades of in‐the‐money options, which have high delta values, generally incur a more adverse information cost component (the permanent spread component) of the futures market than those of out‐of‐the‐money options, which have relatively low delta values. Finally, we find that the adverse information cost component that is estimated from the cross‐market model exhibits a nearly U‐shaped intraday pattern; however, it sharply decreases at the end of the trading day. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark     

The impact of net buying pressure on index options prices

This study examines whether the demand for options, as measured by the net buying pressure of index options, explains the implied volatility structure created by options prices. We decompose the buying pressure into the direction‐motivated (i.e., delta‐informed) and the volatility‐motivated (i.e., vega‐informed) demand for options. After controlling for options traders' hedging demand, we find that both delta‐ and vega‐informed trading play significant roles in explaining changes in implied volatility. Foreign institutions are more directionally informed in index options trading than their domestic counterparts are. Domestic investors effectively implement volatility trading using put options.     

Adverse selection costs: A study on the Chinese stock market

Employing a bid-ask spread model applicable for order-driven market, this paper decomposes the bid-ask spread of Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) into adverse selection and order processing cost components to investigate the relationship between the components of bid-ask spread and order size. It examines the impacts of firm size, price, trading activeness, and volatility on adverse selection cost, and explores the intraday pattern of adverse selection costs and informative trading. Results show that adverse selection costs increase with trade scale. However, order processing costs do not exhibit the economies of scale. Stocks of large firms, which are high-priced and actively traded, have relatively low adverse selection costs; stocks with large volatility have relatively high adverse selection costs. Moreover, this paper finds that the adverse selection component of bid-ask spread in the Chinese stock market exhibits an L-shaped intraday pattern, which implies that heavy trading around market opening is dominated by informative trading, while heavy trading near market closing is dominated by liquidity trading.     

When do informed traders acquire and trade on informational advantage? Evidence from Federal Reserve stress tests

Using Federal Reserve bank stress test announcements, we examine when option traders acquire informational advantage and when they exploit it. We find consistent evidence of informed options trading around announcements. However, when test results are announced in successive weeks we find high abnormal option volume, considerably positive abnormal returns and significant return predictability in the first week, but not the following week. This suggests that informed option traders are able to anticipate upcoming news events and skillfully process public information but it also suggests that trading on acquired information is conditioned on the level of information asymmetry in the market.     

信息不对称条件下的知情交易与市场操纵研究

信息不对称性是证券市场知情交易和市场操纵行为产生的必要前提,知情交易虽然可能促进真实价格的发现和市场效率的提高,但更有可能引发策略性的市场操纵行为。而在市场操纵策略中必然隐含着知情交易行为。市场操纵行为是不利于证券市场的规范发展和中小投资者利益保护的。解决市场操纵的主要办法只能是信息披露制度的完善和规范。     

Trading Mechanisms and Market Quality: Call Markets versus Continuous Auction Markets

On July 29, 2002, the trading mechanism in the Taiwan Futures Exchange (TAIFEX) was switched from an exclusive call market to a continuous auction market. Based upon several proxies of market quality, in the present study, we set out to empirically examine whether this switch has resulted in any significant improvement in market quality within the TAIFEX. We find that while the quoted spreads, effective spreads, and price volatility are all smaller in the continuous auction market, the call auction market exhibits greater market depth and smaller pricing errors; the latter is also found to be more effective in resolving the problem of information asymmetry. Overall, the results of the present study suggest that the choice between call and continuous auction trading mechanisms essentially involves trade‐offs between the bid‐ask spread, market depth, price volatility, information asymmetry costs, and price efficiency.     

Decimalization,trading costs,and information transmission between ETFs and index futures

The impact of changes in trading costs, due to decimalization, on informed trading and speed of information transmission between exchange‐traded funds (ETFs) and their corresponding index futures is examined. ETFs began to trade in decimals on January 29, 2001, and index futures continued to trade in their original tick sizes. The focus is on whether the decrease in the minimum tick size of ETFs influences the relative performances of these two types of index instruments in the price‐discovery process. It is found that for ETFs, the trading activity increases, but the market depth drops significantly after decimalization. The spreads for ETFs generally decrease, but the adverse selection component of ETF spreads increases. Furthermore, after decimalization, ETFs start to lead index futures in the price‐discovery process and its share of information also increases. Although index futures still assume a dominant role in information discovery, the information content of the ETFs' prices improves significantly after decimalization. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 26:131–151, 2006     

订单驱动机制下买卖价差构成分析——兼论以买卖价差度量流动性的可靠性

买卖价差是金融市场微观结构理论研究的重要组成部分。在报价驱动交易机制下,买卖价差由指令处理成本、存货成本和非对称信息成本构成。而在订单驱动交易机制下,若不考虑订单处理成本,买卖价差则主要取决于投资者对资产预期价值的差异、买卖双方投资者间的比例和逆向选择成本。经研究发现,买卖价差随投资者对资产预期与逆向选择成本的增加而增加,当买卖双方力量对比相当时,买卖价差达到最大;而在单边买方或卖方市场,买卖价差则达到最小,这一点与通常对流动性的理解是相矛盾的。由此,在订单驱动机制下,以买卖价差作为流动性度量指标是不可靠的。     

Information asymmetry and investor trading behavior around bond rating change announcements

This study examines stock market reactions to public announcements (corporate bond rating changes), including changes in stock prices and investor behavior in terms of trading volumes and patterns. Abnormal returns, abnormal volumes, and net order imbalances are estimated using high-quality stock transaction data from Korean firms, whose bonds were rated by Korea's leading credit rating agencies between 2000 and 2015. We find positive (negative) abnormal stock returns around upgrades (downgrades), although the stock price reactions to downgrades are more statistically significant than those to upgrades. Significant abnormal volumes and order imbalances are found around rating changes, and the extent to which each investor group (domestic individuals, domestic institutions, or foreign investors) reacts to a rating change varies. Our analyses also support that foreign and domestic institutional investors are better informed than individual investors.     

风险投资中的收益分配与激励机制探究——基于信息不对称下委托代理模型的分析

在信息不对称条件下,风险投资市场中的风险投资者与风险投资家会形成委托代理关系进而会导致逆向选择与道德风险问题的出现。从减少信息不对称和促使委托人与代理人双方收益趋向一致的角度出发,建立了一套分析风险投资者与风险投资家收益分配机制模型,根据模型分析得出收益分配的最佳方案,提出了更加完善的委托代理风险防范措施和激励机制,以解决风险投资者无法克服信息不对称所带来的逆向选择及道德风险等一系列实际问题,并在帮助风险投资者约束风险投资家的行为的基础上使自己的收益最大化,从而促进风险投资市场更加繁荣和健康发展。     

The determinants of cross-border equity flows

We explore a new panel data set on bilateral gross cross-border equity flows between 14 countries, 1989-1996. We show that a “gravity” model explains international transactions in financial assets at least as well as goods trade transactions. Gross transaction flows depend on market size in source and destination country as well as trading costs, in which both information and the transaction technology play a role. Distance proxies some information costs, and other variables explicitly represent information transmission, an information asymmetry between domestic and foreign investors, and the efficiency of transactions. The geography of information is the main determinant of the pattern of international transactions, while there is weak support in our data for the diversification motive, once we control for the informational friction. We broaden the scope of our results by presenting some evidence linking the results on equity transactions to equity holdings.     

Does adverse selection affect bid–ask spreads for options?

This study examines two different option markets to test whether differences in the level of adverse selection faced by market makers affect the size of bid–ask spreads. The data are from bank‐issued options that trade on EuWax, where market makers face little adverse selection and traditional options that trade on EuRex. The results support the hypothesis that the adverse selection component of the bid–ask spread is important, as options on EuWax have lower bid–ask spreads than comparable options on EuRex. The results show that the adverse selection component represents at least half of the overall bid–ask spreads on the traditional EuRex. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 28:417–437, 2008     

The price impact of futures trades and their intraday seasonality

This study examines the price impact of futures trades and their intraday seasonality by analyzing the continuous trading session dataset of KOSPI 200 futures, including the opening and closing periods. For this purpose, the study analyzes the futures dataset that contains information on transaction times, trade directions, order sizes, and the types of investors initiating the transactions. The results suggest several novel findings. First, a substantial portion of the price impact of futures trades is persistent, indicating the presence of informed trading in the futures market. Second, informed trading is concentrated in the opening period and liquidity trading is concentrated in the closing period of the continuous trading session. Third, small trades usually have a greater price impact than large ones, supporting the existence of stealth trading by futures traders. Fourth, trades by institutional investors have a greater price impact than those by individuals, suggesting that institutional investors are better informed and/or more sophisticated than individual investors in the futures market.     

When Is a Firm's Information Asymmetry Priced? The Role of Institutional Investors

This study reexamines the competing claims that probability of informed trading (PIN) is priced in the cross‐section of stock returns while adjusted PIN (AdjPIN), the component of PIN related to information asymmetry, is not. We find that behind these seemingly contradicting conclusions is the role of institutional investors, and the pricing of PIN and AdjPIN depends on institutional ownership. Only for those stocks with low institutional ownership are both PIN and AdjPIN priced. Our findings imply that investors require compensation for information risk only from stocks with low institutional ownership.     

信用、信息和交易——当今信用缺失的原因、后果及其治理

本文认为,信用是市场交易的基本要素,是社会经济运行的润滑剂,信用缺失对经济增长和社会发展影响极大。导致信用缺失的原因很多,而信息不对称就是一个难以完全消除的原因。信息不对称所导致的严重后果之一就是加大了实际交易费用,甚至使交易者因惧怕高额交易费用而放弃交易,导致社会福利无从增加。文章提出,为降低信息不对称程度、完善信用市场,必须进行信用主体、社会和政府三方面的信用建设,促进信用主体采取相应的自助与自救措施矫正信息不对称程度,取得互利的信任;加强社会信用信息系统建设,尤其是信息中介机构建设;充分发挥政府在信用建设中的作用,以政府为主导,在各有关部门的积极参与下,促进信用信息系统建设。     

机构投资者的交易行为研究:来自中国台湾股市的证据

文章以中国台湾股市为研究对象,主要研究机构投资者的交易行为。文章构建了机构投资者交易不平衡性指标——净交易,在此基础上研究机构投资者的交易行为。研究结果表明:台湾股票市场中以外资和投信基金为代表的金融机构投资者表现为正反馈的交易策略,并且交易的信息含量较高;一般法人的交易表现为负反馈的交易策略,并且交易的信息含量不足;而自营商由于交易动机复杂,交易的信息含量不明确。可见不同的机构投资者的交易行为并不相同。     

What do we know about individual equity options?

This paper examines the empirical literature on individual equity options, discussing results in areas of consensus, showing findings in areas of disagreement and providing a guide for future research (especially highlighting analyses that cannot be performed with index options). Key topics include the impact of equity option listings on the underlying stock market, option market efficiency, anomalies in equity option returns, option market microstructure, investors’ behavioral biases, option price discovery, and private information revealed in equity option markets. Some directions for future research include the determinants of equity option returns and the effect of algorithmic trading in option markets.     

The economic significance of conditional skewness in index option markets

This study examines whether conditional skewness forecasts of the underlying asset returns can be used to trade profitably in the index options market. The results indicate that a more general skewness‐based option‐pricing model can generate better trading performance for strip and strap trades. The results show that conditional skewness model forecasts, when combined with forward‐looking option implied volatilities, can significantly improve the performance of skewness‐based trades but trading costs considerably weaken the profitability of index option strategies. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 30:378–406, 2010     

Lower‐boundary violations and market efficiency: Evidence from the German DAX‐index options market

The informational efficiency of the market for options on the German stock index DAX is examined using intraday transactions data. Problems of previous studies on options‐market efficiency, arising from dividend estimation and the early‐exercise effect, are avoided, because the DAX is a performance index and DAX options are European options. Ex‐post and ex‐ante tests are carried out to simulate trading strategies that exploit irrational lower‐boundary violations of observed option prices. Because the lower‐boundary conditions are solely based on arbitrage considerations, the test results do not depend on the assumption that investors use a particular option‐pricing model. The investigation shows that ex‐post profits are, in general, dramatically reduced when the execution of arbitrage strategies is delayed and/or transaction costs are accounted for. However, arbitrage restrictions, which rely on short selling of the component stocks of the index, tend to be violated more often and with higher persistence. An analysis of consecutive subsamples suggests that, over time, traders have been subjected to a learning process when pricing this relatively new instrument. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 20: 405–424, 2000